When Patrick Jordan arrived at the Catholic Worker house in New York City in 1968, it was an exhilarating time for the Franciscan seminarian from California.
"It was just after Vatican II. It was the civil rights era -- the Vietnam War and migrant workers. It was a vital and alive place."
Fifteen Catholic youth led their parents and dozens of other community members in a protest against nuclear weapons April 14.
Last week marked a typical turn in our world of violence -- dozens killed in explosions in Iraq, U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan, the ongoing U.S.-backed occupation of Palestine, the force-feeding of U.S. prisoners at Guantanamo, our president's daily perusal of his assassination list, millions of children starving to death around the world, ongoing U.S. preparations for nuclear war, the continued exploitation of the earth and its creatures, inner-city shootings, 14 dead from a fiery factory explosion in Texas -- and the Boston Marathon bombings.
A proposed bill for immigration reform addresses "much more than a political issue," said Salt Lake City Bishop John Wester.
John Allen in Rome: Pope Francis' support of the sainthood cause of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador means beatification could come quickly.
Part educational, part fundraiser and part interactive, the experience allows students to show solidarity with the nearly 43 million displaced persons worldwide.
After four weeks of testimony, on April 18 a separate court granted a defense request to annul the Guatemala genocide trial against Gen. José Efraín Ríos Montt and his intelligence chief, Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, in a decision based on a technicality.
“You are mocking the victims,” the prosecution said in a small, crowded meeting room amid a crush of press. “The victims are the accused,” said the defense.
Syria's Melkite Patriarch has called for western nations to find ways to bring peace and not to debate arming the opposition.
A White House advisory council of religious leaders called for a global fund to address human trafficking and urged a new labeling system to help identify consumer goods that were not created with slave labor.
With a 36-page report released Wednesday, the President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships hopes to build awareness of the estimated 21 million people worldwide who are subjected to sexual exploitation or forced labor.
"As members of the one body of Christ, we are obligated to stand with our little sisters and brothers," said Bishop Patrick McGrath.
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